Critic Reviews

In any case, this is just something I've experienced while playing in SP several times - bosses are a major pain, with or without hired swords, and you die often. In every other respect, this is a fantastic game. The gameplay is there, the interface is perfect, the character classes are balanced, the story is good, the sound and music are phenomenal. For every right reason, Diablo 2 is a classic game

Diablo II is addictive, and as such it has the power to undermine emotional stability, corrupt daily routines, and break up loving families. The wise thing is just to say NO. But hey, that’s for wimps. If you have an understanding husband or wife, and a strong will to survive, go ahead and give it a try. Just remember to hug your kids, pat your dogs, and kiss your loving spouse good-bye. You won’t see them again for weeks.

Is Diablo II worth the three-year wait? Without a doubt, the answer is "Hell yes!" Despite a few niggling points, we have little trouble saying it's an early contender for being the best game of 2000. But consider yourself warned: You might want to say goodbye to your significant other now. Your free time is about to go in flames.

Diablo II, however, still earns five GiN Gems for its ability to easily capture gamers and non-gamers alike, and take them through an exciting and highly addictive Dungeons-and-Dragons-like world. The ability to host a game, where you and a bunch of your friends can all play together, also makes this game worth the price of admission. Now, if I only had five gems for my Diablo II character I would be set! Nothing another 20 hours of play won't fix.

To say that the sequel to Blizzard's runaway 1996 hit has been greatly anticipated is to indulge in wild understatement. Credited with literally saving the RPG genre with its simple, addictive hack-and-slash gameplay, Diablo made a pile of money and became an instant classic.

Diablo II is one of those games that people seem to adore with a fierce passion or just not get at all. Indeed after roughly twenty-five hours of playing it obsessively I suddenly stopped and said to myself "what AM I doing? After all this time, WHAT have I achieved?" and for many people that will be the point they exit, uninstall the game and never bother with it again. But for many more people like myself the sheer enjoyment of building a character and seeing one's hard work payoff later down the line is what keeps us playing, and the reason why, even so many years after its initial 2000 release so many people are still playing Diablo II.

It took Blizzard years to make this game, this probably having been their longest game in development yet. After being delayed several times from it's original release date, originally set for Christmas 1998, we finally have the game, even though it's now Summer 2000. During it's long duration of development, Diablo II received more hype than probably any other game ever has, and why not, as the original Diablo was a major hit, selling more than two million copies worldwide. But the big question that's on every fan's mind is... can Blizzard pull it off again, and deliver us a fun and unique RPG, that is an instant classic?

Given all the disappointments in the gaming world of late, it was hard to maintain my optimism and enthusiasm for Diablo II. I was wrong to not do so. I should know better and trusted Blizzard. They have never steered me wrong yet and with Diablo II they have shown that they are the premiere developer out there. Kudos to the Diablo II team, you survived the hype, the delays and the jinx and produced a solid contender for Game of the Year. If you have never played Diablo, buy this game, if you have, then for God’s sake what are you waiting for. Now if you’ll excuse me I really have to go play Diablo II- bye.

Two million reservations before a game has even come out is something which will cause a stir in the gaming community. Yes, I am talking about the infamous Blizzard title Diablo 2. I brought it upon myself to figure out what all of this hype is about. With the original game scheduled for release in 1998, many people wondered why it was pushed back so far. This long wait has increased all of our expectations for Diablo II, and the game has met them all.

In the end, it comes down to gameplay. All the pretty graphics and fancy effects in the world don't help you. People didn't play Civilization because it looked cool, and they won't be playing Diablo II to see how pretty the Amazon's fire arrows are. Diablo II isn't a perfect game - the save system and battle.net are the two major issues we had, though we are still baffled by the lackluster graphics. However, when it comes down to it, Diablo II is undeniably fun. The charm of leveling and improving your character is undeniable. So what are a few minor issues to stand in your way?

It has been years in the making, but Blizzard has finally released the long-awaited sequel to Diablo. Was it worth the wait? A definite yes! This isn’t "El Pollo Diablo" from Monkey Island; it is THE Diablo.

I am happy to report that the original game was no fluke. The gameplay still holds up, particularly with Blizzard's ingenious additions. Once again, DIABLO II is the standard by which other games of this kind will be measured.

I love the decisions as you grow your character up... do I spend more on my dodge skill or increase the power of my fire arrows?... I love the tactics involved in taking down the big-bad monsters at the end of quests. The multiplayer game is a relaxing adventure. You can join up with friends (the secure battle-net games seem to have definite problems with lag and overcrowding making it difficult to play the special "Realm" characters which are ranked according to experience...) and duke it out with evil in a relatively fast paced manner. Unlike multi-player online games like Everquest, you can go up a couple of levels in an evening of play giving you excellent positive reward for an evening of playing.

Diablo II is a terrifically entertaining game with only one drawback: the Save feature occasionally forces you to revisit areas you've already trod and face defeated enemies again. If you liked Diablo, you'll love Diablo II.

In the end, however, the technical problems are simply that - problems. They'll be resolved. In the meantime, there's single player, there's Open characters, and if you've got the patience, you can use the Realms. Despite the bugs, there's one simple conclusion - Diablo II is a hell of a lot of fun.
It's essentially the perfect sequel - it's more of the same. If you loved Diablo, you'll love Diablo II - there are more characters, more areas, more skills, more treasures, and a lot more challenge. If you never played Diablo, give Diablo II a shot - it's got simple, yet amazingly addictive gameplay, and there's a whole lot to like.
Its got a solid single player game, terrific multi-player aspects, and is a blast to play. What else can you ask for?

Simply put, Diablo II is one of the best PC games out there. Also, thanks to an uncharacteristicly fast port, it is also one of the best Mac games out there. Both versions hit the shelves within a week of each other, and the Mac version has just as much care put into it. Even if you don't care for PC games in general, Diablo II is a nice game, and with it's multiplayer aspect and randomly generated world, you may find yourself playing for a very long time indeed.

Diablo 2 is a simple game in many respects. Sure at it's heart it maybe a hack 'n' slash RPG but to describe it in those simple terms is not giving the game the credit it deserves. Addictive, fun and rewarding (yes it is fantastically rewarding to build a character up) are all accurate descriptions of the game and it is difficult to avoid being sucked in by its 'just another five more minutes' appeal. It succeeds as surpassing the original and giving Diablo fans more than they could hope for. Diablo 2 has already claimed its place in gaming history through its terrific sales and its mass online appeal so perhaps there is a lot to say for a keeping a game simple as long as it still has that old magic playablility , and Diablo 2 has it by the truck (or should that be dungeon) load.

The true key to Diablo II's success is simply the fact that it is a real blast to play, partially because it has a sound storyline with superb scene-setting movies between its four chapters. Moreover, it has an impressive array of beasts and undead enemies to lock horns in battle with and an incredible amount of variety in terms of the skills, statistics, arms and armour combinations you can develop for your characters. Yes, it is perhaps a bit too linear in overall terms, and lacks the sort of interaction and reaction that characterises other roleplaying games, but it makes up for this with simple, action-orientated play. Most of all though it is solid value for money with a single-player mode that will keep you busy for a considerable period of time and satisfying replay value with the different character classes in single-player mode as well as online.

That damn Diablo is at it again. Not that anyone is really complaining.

If this game isn’t the best sequel of all time, then it’s in the top three. Not only is the second chapter of this tale great on its own, it is in every way a serious improvement over its predecessor. Blizzard, long known for providing quality titles for the Mac platform, has yet to let us down. Granted, the making of Diablo II took a long time and it does (like any game) have some things folks can gripe about, in the end, this game is sure to be on millions of hard drives for a long time to come.

What does a hard core Diablo addict think when they initially start up Diablo II? Besides the typical "It's about time it came out!" reaction, many have extremely high expectations. I was one of those who wanted more of what I had already fallen in love with in the original, and I got it in spades, along with a few surprises. The overall look and feel is beyond Diablo and was definitely worth the three plus year wait. The advancements in the gaming engine make coming back a much more fulfilling experience than I had ever thought possible. Once again Blizzard has done what few gaming developers can: revamp what was already successful and make it better by leaps and bounds.

If you liked Diablo, you’ll like Diablo II. It’s proven very addicting and time consuming (just ask our wives), so if you don’t have much time, you may not be able to really enjoy it. We said this about Diablo but it’s just as true about the sequel: Diablo II really rocks. The gameplay has maintained all the features that made the original enjoyable and the enhancements to character growth, story depth, graphics, and multiplayer support are welcome improvements. While it is a great game, it doesn’t rate top honors due to the many issues with Battle.net and flaky support for Windows 2000.

This one claims to be a Role Playing Game, but I am here to tell you that, while there are a few elements of role playing in this game, for the most part it is too linear and the game play is too superficial to allow me to call this a true RPG. It is certainly an adventure, and a VERY good one, but it is not an RPG. Don't let semantics turn you away from this one, though! In the context of the game itself, it is fun to play and watch, and you will not regret paying for this one!!

Diablo 2 is not a real hardcore RPG like baldur's gate or planescape but it is just one fantastic hack&slash fest that can keep u busy for weeks, looking for quests and items. It has been a while that i played a game that kept me so busy trying to discover new things. And when u're just recovered of the single player experience, try the multplayer on Battle.net. Man that really shows the other multiplayer games (except for Quake(and look-alikes), starcraft and online rpg's) in its class some butt. Yep, your character gets experienced quicker and there is nothing more pleasant then whooping some demon scum's asses with a nice human party.

Diablo II isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. The graphics and sound are good, it's visually interesting, and the character classes and abilities are all pretty fun and distinct. The game also gets players with an addictive "one more quest" hook, and trying to collect the ideal set of equipment is entertaining in and of itself. However, Diablo is held back from being an excellent game by the fact that it features no really interesting characters or roleplaying, it only has a few simple quests, its story is paper thin, it has a few technical issues, Battle.net is unreliable, and the gameplay is ultimately shallow and repetitive. If mowing down wave after wave of foes just to watch your stats go up is fun for you, then you may like it quite a bit. If, on the other hand, you're a fan of role playing games that offer an in-depth storyine, a chance to engage in genuine roleplaying, and a feeling of being part of the game world, then you'll likely be disappointed.

Legend has it that after many long, deadly battles, the life forces of three demonic brothers, Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo--the manifestations of evil--were finally imprisoned within three separate soulstones. The soulstones were then implanted into the bodies of the heroes who captured the demons, and the heroes were buried deep in the earth to spend eternity wrestling with the demonic life forces, keeping them from escaping back into the world.

So if you've got the yen to kill, kill, kill with pretty graphics, Diablo II provides everything you need, including a good story. But if you're not a multiplayer kind of guy or want something more interactive, you might want to try Baldur's Gate instead.

I fear I am to become the most hated editor in the history of gaming news and reviews. But before you go ahead and judge me on my shortcomings as a human being and write thousands of pieces of hate mail and death threats to me, read the review. I have my reasons for not giving Diablo II a perfect score. Plenty of them. But hark! What's this? Yes there are plenty of good things to go along with the bad. It is Blizzard after all, and they aren't known for making horrible products. So blaze on intrepid readers, I promise I'll be fair.

I have little to pick at with Diablo II. It's a solid game. The difficultly levels are adjusted accordingly and they're not unbalanced in the least. The game is much longer than Diablo; in fact, Act I is probably just as long as Diablo was in its entirety. With four Acts to bash through and online play that is even more addictive, Diablo II will keep your hands on that mouse for quite some time. And since the control is easy to manage with the mouse as well, you won't be slamming the mouse in anger…that is, unless you get killed by another, stronger player…or you happen to be playing on Nightmare.

All in all, Diablo II is certainly a worthy sequel to a title that excels at being one of the hardest games to stop playing. Those looking for detailed character and party management as well as a more intricate storyline and rewarding single-player experience should probably wait for Baldur's Gate II. But those who just want to get their licks in without committing significant hours of time will find Diablo II to be one of the more addictive games of 2000.

The game certainly has something about it and that something is mostly the FMV sequences and pure, logic ridden, action. Diablo I was the Prometheus of its genre, Diablo II most certainly isn't. Anyway it is sure to sell good and play a lot, so this game isn't meant for people who already play the game, nor fro those who plan on buying it ASAP, it's for the weird few who wander: Have I gone insane or has the rest of the world gone berserk after a couple of line of quite average computer code?

Diablo II leaves the dungeon behind (for the most part) in favor of a camping holiday: the standard Ye Olde Westerne Foreste, an Arabian desert, a West Indies Jungle, and finally, Hell, which doesn't look as much like the Atlanta International Airport as one might figure. All beautifully (though darkly, and I mean this in terms of being able to see the thing) rendered. The sunlight and weather changes, but this has no real effect on gameplay, other than to cause me to question the intelligence of a "hero" who wanders in a thunderstorm wearing plate mail armor and carrying a spear upright. Shades of Goofus and Gallant.

Any review of Diablo II has to start with a tip of the hat to the original Diablo. This great Blizzard gaming hit swept the county, and the great reception that it received from millions of fans is the reason that we have Diablo II today. While it was almost a given that Blizzard would have to create a sequel, it was open for debate how the next installment would differ from the first. The differences in Diablo II are both subtle and compelling, and Blizzard has again given us a master piece of gaming.

Diablo II can be an exhilarating game at times, but the battling can become awfully repetitive and can lead to a bad case of click-finger from having to click the mouse over and over. The game is fair enough in the lower difficulty levels, but by the time you get to the "Nightmare" level, you may be tempted to remove hair via clenched fists. But the worst offense is the need to constantly revisit the town over and over again; sometimes you'll have to take another trip back after less than a minute of fighting. This leads to a jarring experience, one that could have been streamlined better. I enjoyed the game overall (it's still above and beyond Diablo by a huge margin), but there is still work to be done before a Diablo game can achieve true greatness.

There are certain events that mark a year, a decade, a century; it is these happenings that help to define the period within our own minds and within the pages of history. So momentous are they that most people can remember every relevant detail, every thought or emotion associated with the matter in question. So powerful are they that they will forever reside within our hearts and minds, in some form or another. This was the fate of such cultural phenomena as the O.J. Simpson verdict, C.N.N's coverage of the Gulf War, the tragic death of Princess Diana...and, of course, Diablo. Storming violently and purposefully across the gaming landscape back in 1997, this title forever redefined the concept of addiction as it claimed the ceaseless attention of millions of fans across the globe with its simple-as-Hell hack'n'slash antics. Part action, part RPG, Diablo went on to become one of the top-selling games of all time, with one of the most avid and dedicated fan bases ever seen.

Diablo and Diablo II comprise a powerful franchise in the gaming industry. When Diablo was first released it went to the top of the sales charts. That was three years ago. Naturally, everyone who ever played the first game anxiously awaited the sequel with baited breath. And for the most part the wait was worth it. But the game isn't without some pretty nasty flaws.